The Slice: Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my

To what extent are nicknames destiny?

Here’s what I’m wondering. Do you feel that you have any of the same traits as your high school’s sports mascot?

They can be physical, behavioral, attitudinal – you name it.

For instance, if your school’s sports squads were called the Bears, do you feel a yearning to den up when winter approaches? If your teams were called the Vikings, do you occasionally feel the urge to pillage?

My own high school’s teams were known as the Seahorses, and I’m not sure what to make of that. Perhaps your connection to your alma mater’s nickname will be more readily apparent.

Let’s say you like Spokane just fine: But every once in a while, you wish you could do something here that you might be able to do if this were a bigger city. What comes to mind?

A) Attend a National Hockey League game. B) Fly nonstop to city XYZ. C) Go to an A List concert. D) Find more places to shop or dine at 3 a.m. E) Other.

Let’s say you like Spokane just fine: But every once in a while, you wish it had a more relaxed, slightly safer vibe that you might find if this were a smaller city. What comes to mind?

A) Your assumption that if you forget to close your garage door, your bike will be stolen within the hour. B) The number of times you pat your pocket to make sure your wallet is still there. C) Local news stories that make you shake your head in dismay. D) Other.

This date in Slice history (2009): Connecting the dots: A tourism ad in a 1928 edition of The American Magazine was headlined “Visit Spokane: The City Alluring.”

Hmmm. I wonder if that particular wordplay was the eventual inspiration for one of the all-time classic lines of pop culture – “Hamm’s, the beer refreshing.”

Warm-up questions: Was Spokane ever part of the “Wild West”? What do you say to an anti-vaxxer?

Today’s Slice question: I was standing in front of the downtown post office, on the northwest corner of Riverside and Lincoln, when I realized I could see a bit of the Wells Fargo Building multiple blocks away through the thicket of other structures as I gazed southeast.

What similar discovery have you made? It does not have to be in downtown Spokane.

Write The Slice at P. O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@ spokesman.com. When you assume that “everyone” in Spokane has been to a certain restaurant, store or cultural venue, you are certain to be wrong.